MJP Associates Inc. ADV Makes New $232,000 Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $2,776,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $2,159,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Zoetis by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,262,000 after buying an additional 3,244,074 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Zoetis by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 108,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,374,000 after buying an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,230,000 after buying an additional 17,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock traded up $2.91 on Friday, hitting $171.09. 4,899,668 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,118,600. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $201.92. The stock has a market cap of $78.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.56 and a 200-day moving average of $179.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.75.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.